India vs Australia: Mitchell Johnson fears Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood burnout

Mumbai: Australian pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood is expected to play a big role against India as they face the ICC No. 1 Test team in a four-match Test series, in India.

Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson, however, is worried that they might suffer burnout due to a packed schedule.

“There’s a lot of cricket going on and there’s a lot of burnout,” Johnson told Talk Sport’s Cricket Week podcast. “I can see it with the Australian quicks now, looking at Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood.

“They had a little bit of a break before the summer started, they missed out (on playing) in South Africa. That (tour) was a disaster for Australia.

“I can see the amount of overs that they are bowling, I can see with body language with certain guys, it will catch up with them. “It’s very difficult and where do you draw the line? “It is very difficult for a lot of the cricketers. You just have to manage yourself the best you can because you want to play every game.”

Starc and Hazelwood are Australia’s first-choice across all three formats. Since Hazelwood’s debut, no fast-bowler has bowled more than his quota of 1216.5 overs in international cricket across all three formats. In the same period, Starc has bowled 1061.3 overs in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.

Johnson further added, “I know when I played I wanted to play all Test match cricket. “There was talk (during my Test career) about maybe missing a Test match to get a bit of recovery, a bit of a break.

“But I was never one of those guys who wanted to do that, I wanted to play Test match cricket, I wanted to wear my Baggy Green even if I was feeling a bit tired going into the game, that didn’t bother me. “I knew I’d get up because it was for my country. “It’s very difficult … (but) with three formats now, it’s even harder.”